While his first release of 2015, Hawaizaada, didn’t fare well at the box office, DLKH made up for it as it released just 27 days later and went on to become a sleeper hit.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha turned out to be a game-changer for Ayushmann. (HT)

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that this year has been a defining one for Ayushmann Khurrana. After being lauded for his performance in his debut film, Vicky Donor (2012), the actor only did two movies over the next few years. But both of them failed to impress the moviegoers. Then, Dum Laga Ke Haisha (DLKH) gave his career a new lease of life.

While his first release of 2015, Hawaizaada, didn’t fare well at the box office, DLKH made up for it as it released just 27 days later and went on to become a sleeper hit. “That unsure phase lasted only for 27 days. I was really nervous and anxious. I didn’t know what would happen, as we didn’t have enough time for the promotions of DLKH. I thought there should have been a gap of a couple of months between both the films, but Aditya Chopra (producer) sir was convinced about the release date,” says Ayushmann.

He adds that he learnt a lot during those 27 days. “They taught me that anything can happen in the industry. That phase made me realise that you are known for your last film and your next movie. I believe one film can change everything for an actor. See how Kangana’s (Ranaut) fortune changed post Queen (2014). But overall, the year has been very positive,” says the actor.

There are rumours that Ayushmann will be part of Anushka Sharma’s next production. While he admits that the talks are on, nothing has been finalised yet. Ask him about the projects in the pipeline, and the actor says, “There will be a few announcements soon. I usually do one film in a year, and do many live shows. But I feel I should do more films this year on. If decent scripts come my way, I will certainly consider them.”

Apart from his acting skills, Ayushmann Khurrana is also admired for his unique style of singing slow romantic numbers. In fact, he released two singles — ‘Yahin hoon main’ and ‘Mitti di khushboo’ — this year. Ask him if he wants to experiment with other kinds of tracks, and Ayushmann says, “As a singer, my voice has a certain texture. I sing certain kinds of songs. I’m not a classically trained vocalist. But now I have started training. I do riyaaz (practise) every day.”

The Vicky Donor stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Yami Gautam are back with a new single, Yahin Hoon Main, sung by Ayushmann. (YouTube)

Talking about his latest single, ‘Yahin hoon main’, Ayushmann says that this is his first Hindi song with no Punjabi lyrics. “The idea was to release three singles every year. But Bhushan Kumar (music producer) only liked ‘Yahin hoon main’. I wanted to sing something different. Technically, it is my first Hindi single. All the others that I have sung so far have been in Punjabi. Bhushanji told me to reinvent myself by singing only in Hindi,” he says. — Jigar Shah